Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Images of God

In my recent Ethical Musings post Arguing
against capital punishment, I posited a dichotomy between individuals who
have an authoritarian image of God being more likely to support the death
penalty and individuals who have a benevolent image of God being less likely to
support it. In response, a reader emailed me this comment:

Seems to me such a
dichotomy has profound implications and helps to explain raging debates on
other topics within and across religions and denominations: evangelical
Protestantism vis-á-vis liberal, Orthodox Judaism vis-á-vis Reform, and Sunni
Islam vis-á-vis Shia. Perhaps this dichotomy is even more significant that
religious affiliation itself.

My correspondent’s examples cloud his point. For example, Sunni Islam
has historically adopted a broad, generous approach to diversity that suggests
a benevolent God. However, the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam and other linked
groups (e.g., the Deobandi in Pakistan and al Qaeda (an Islamist terrorist
organization and not a Muslim sect)) have a narrow, authoritarian image of God
that sharply contrasts with historic Sunni Islam. Ultra-orthodox Judaism offers
a sharper contrast to Reform Judaism than do most expressions of Orthodox Judaism.
Similar diversity exists within both liberal and evangelical Protestantism,
although liberals tend more toward a benevolent image of God than do
evangelicals.

As with any stereotype, exceptions exist. However, a stereotype’s power derives
from the insights facilitated by its broad description rather than the accurate
characterization of each particular instance. That caveat warns against judging
individuals based upon stereotypes. Conversely, ignoring the analytical power
of stereotypes impoverishes insight and retards progress.

The dichotomy between benevolent and authoritarian images of God (which,
in fact, emphasizes two extremes between which lies a spectrum of gradations)
perhaps transcends particular religious affiliation because it reflects a
person’s personality or psyche more than anything else. Obviously, environment
and genetics help to form that personality or psyche.

If one accepts that God is one, and that only one God exists, then
substantial and radical differences in the image of God have little to do with
God and much to do with religion, culture, and personality.

The world is both benevolent and cruel. For example, without the world
life would be impossible. Reciprocal altruism and human social gregariousness
both point to human interdependence. Our capacity to love and to be loved is
one of the elements of the human spirit that distinguishes humans, at least in
degree, from other species. All of this suggests benevolence. But life is
finite. Species exist in competition with one another. Even within Homo
sapiens, competition exists in tension with the need for interdependence. We necessarily
treat some species as food sources – even vegans do this. Ergo, one can easily
perceive the world as a cruel place.

One’s dominant view of the world as benevolent or cruel to some extent
shapes that person’s image of God. For atheists and agnostics, my choice of
terms – benevolent and cruel – will often be problematic because the terms
imply a value judgment they are unwilling to make. The world simply is; no reasonable
basis exists for imposing a value laden adjective. Yet my sense from conversing
with atheists and agnostics over the years is that most of them approach life
with an optimism or pessimism that is strikingly similar to characterizing the
world as either a benevolent or cruel place.

These musings prompted two final thoughts:

1.Nobody
knows the future, so prepare for the worst and hope for the best, a policy that
incorporates the wisdom of pessimism with that of optimism, i.e., bad things do
happen, adequate anticipation can mitigate or even minimize negative
consequences, but hope is essential for living abundantly and joyously.

2.God is
more likely benevolent than cruel. The world’s major religions all associate benevolence
or bliss with the ultimate. Seeking a benevolent image of God helps to open the
windows of one’s life so that God’s light may illuminate one’s life and path
more fully.